Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago White Sox: Final Score & Recap
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 18 | 0 |
| CWS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
The Story
The Pittsburgh Pirates routed the Chicago White Sox 9-3 at Rate Field on September 8, 2026, building an insurmountable 7-0 lead through the first two innings and never relinquishing control. The DiamondIQ model entered the game giving the White Sox a 56% chance of winning at home, but that edge evaporated almost immediately as Pittsburgh scored five times in the first inning and added two more in the second. The Pirates finished with 18 hits and committed no errors, while Chicago managed only six hits and was unable to generate any sustained offensive pressure until the damage was thoroughly done.
The win-probability shifts of the game's earliest at-bats told the story of how completely Pittsburgh seized control. Konnor Griffin's flyout against Sean Burke in the top of the first shifted win probability 10.6 percentage points in Pittsburgh's favor, suggesting the Pirates were already in position with runners on base before being retired, yet still scored five runs that frame. In the bottom half, Bubba Chandler induced a strikeout of Munetaka Murakami that swung win probability 11.6 points toward Pittsburgh, extinguishing whatever chance the White Sox had of responding. The pattern repeated in the second inning, where Jacob Gonzalez's pop out off Tyler Schweitzer added 12.7 percentage points to Pittsburgh's chances, and Braden Montgomery's flyout against Chandler cost the White Sox 13.5 points in win probability, leaving Chicago's DiamondIQ model estimate effectively at zero before the game was three innings old.
Bubba Chandler was the standout performer of the evening by a wide margin, posting a WPA of plus-29.2%, the decisive force behind Pittsburgh's victory on the mound. Among position players, Jacob Gonzalez led Pittsburgh batters with a plus-12.6% WPA, while Konnor Griffin contributed plus-10.8%. Spencer Horwitz added a single in the second inning for a plus-2.0% WPA and matching RE24 of plus-2.0, providing one of the few individual plate appearances that moved the needle offensively in what became a methodical wire-to-wire Pirates win.